Traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts for 22% of total casualties in the current conflicts and 59% of the injuries where servicemembers are exposed to blasts. That makes research on the relationship between TBI and dementia later in life especially critical for the future of the VHA.

The number of veterans treated at the VA for bipolar disorder increased more than 37% in an eight-year period. Clinicians are challenged both by the rapid increase in cases and the high side-effect profile of lithium, the first-line treatment for the disorder.

For years, researchers have been working to discover which cellular processes allow humans to learn and store memories, and how these processes are compromised by diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s. Researchers at NIH say they believe they have uncovered one piece to this puzzle.

Suicide among veterans has grabbed its fair share of headlines in recent weeks. Much of the focus has been on VA’s difficulty in providing timely care, especially to veterans returning from deployment with PTSD, TBI or other neuropsychological conditions.

WASHINGTON — Mental health providers interviewed every single member of a 900-plus member Marine battalion that had sustained heavy losses in Afghanistan, as part of their reintegration upon return from deployment.

WASHINGTON — Does VA need to employ more aggressive tactics when it comes to getting veterans struggling with PTSD, depression and substance abuse into treatment?  Should some of those tactics involve using disability benefits as an incentive to receive treatment instead of as a simple entitlement?

WASHINGTON — Acute stress is rampant among troops in Afghanistan who are experiencing “a dramatic increase” in the levels of combat activity, according to a recent study.

Washington - More than 700,000 children have had one or more parent deployed to the Iraq or Afghanistan theaters of operation, and recent studies indicate that those children suffer significant rates of behavioral and stress disorders, according to a recent White House report.

WASHINGTON—Not that long ago, a woman who had been sexually assaulted might have gone to an Army Military Treatment Facility (MTF), had a forensic examination and then would go home without anyone at the MTF knowing what became of her.

The high rate of mental health conditions not only can make it difficult for HCV-infected veterans to manage their own illnesses. Those psychiatric issues also can be barriers to interferon treatment and liver transplants. In response, VA resource centers are employing a multi-disciplinary approach to HCV disease management.